Breastfeeding logistics

[Elephant768]

First time mother and so this question might scream nativity and hopelessness. I want to try to exclusively breastfeed for first 6 months. Of course I’m aware that it just doesn’t work out for an array of reasons so I’m also prepared to bottle feed if needed…. ‘Fed’ is best as they say!

Or maybe exclusively breastfeeding is the incorrect term. I want to breastfeed whenever I can and then if I’m asleep for a few hours and my husband can feed the baby with a bottle that I have ‘pumped’. How far advance can I express milk?! How much do I need to pump if I know I’m going to have a nap when husband is home? Or if I want to get some fresh air and leave baby with grandparents and a bottle? How often do I need to pump?

It’s quite a crucial question because I know everyone stresses the importance of getting some rest and I suppose in order to do so it would be great if I can pump and give someone a bottle. Appreciate that might not work, some babies refuse a bottle, maybe I can’t pump enough etc - in which case formula would be the second best option

I guess my question is, is pumping / expressing efficient and has it helped mothers get some rest and does it help in planning?

Thanks so much

Pumping is not worth the effort in reality.
I found it much easier to breastfeed baby then go off and do what I needed to do then breastfeed when straight back.
You need to be careful that baby doesn't get confused with nipple and teat as that can be confusing for them.
Also feeding from bottle when due for a feed will cause you huge problems with engorgement and can lead to mastitis which can be quite serious.

I have an 11 week old and my son has had a bottle from birth occasionally since birth

He had low blood sugars and was sleeping for 12 hours at a time so we were having to give him formula and a little colostrum by syringe as he couldn't wake enough to breastfeed. He also had a 100% tongue tie so breastfeed was exhausting for him, cut at 8 days.

When he was 5 days old I had to leave him with my partner for an unknown length of time as I had to go for a liver scan so I left him with a bottle of expressed milk. I used the haakaa to collect the milk. I feed twice on one side and hand expressed the other side after the feed into the haakaa.

For the first 3 or 4 weeks I expressed 30-50 ml every few days so that I could do bed time with my eldest whilst my partner looked after baby. Sometimes he needed it sometimes he didn't. After about 4 weeks my partner has found it harder to keep him calm so now we juggle the best we can and usually he brings him back for a breastfeed if he needs a feed as he's usually not calm enough to take the bottle.

I have a fast let down and a good supply, if I time a pumping session for when my breasts feel tingly and ready for a feed I can get 3oz in about 5 minutes with a manual pump and another oz on the other side with a haakaa. I had high lipase when I had my daughter and she would only accept milk that was less than 24h old. I've not tested this the second time around, I've not tasted my milk (lipase makes it taste sour and soapy) so I only express enough to soothe and not enough for long feeds treating it as a little emergency snack to have in the fridge in case I'm not about to give a meal.

We introduced a bottle with my eldest when she was 2-3 weeks and she had a bottle aversion on and off due to reflux and allergies. It was handy when she did accept it as I would sleep in at the weekend and my partner would take her in the morning. I'd feed her around 7 am and then he would take her. 3-4oz of expressed breastmilk would let me sleep until 10-11 am. She was a terrible sleeper and I had severe depression and psychosis. This time around baby sleeps much better and I am able to sleep until 9-10am and not needed my partner to take the baby.

All my friends that waited 6 weeks to introduce a bottle were able to get their babies to accept a bottle. Expressing can be time and energy consuming and you can find that it adds and extra job to your to do list before you stop to rest and you might find that this is less restful that resting for a shorter time without expressing. The first few weeks with both babies it was easier to rest as they fed every 3h fairly reliably and I could time a sleep in between. Once they woke up a bit more then they feed more irregularly and much more for comfort so it's been harder to time rest. I did cosleeping naps on the first month which helped. Today my son has been feeding every 20-45 minutes since 3.30! He's currently asleep and I'm hoping that he'll now get a few hours. He has been barely out of my arms and my rest has come from sitting on the sofa and being fed by my partner and plenty of cups to tea and him doing the majority of the house work.

I soon gave up on the idea of pumping, one of the great things about breast feeding is it's just there when you need it and there's no sterilising or preparing. Pumping was just too much hard work for little gain for me!

I would also say it's great to plan, but you really can't know what having your baby will be like, so be prepared to chuck all of your plans out of the window (and don't beat yourself up when you do!)

I had trouble producing milk via pumping and I have two good quality pumps. 🤷‍♀️ I made formula for when I needed to pop out and baby would take that no probs as long as I was out. If I was home baby only wanted the boob. 😂